Test system and method for triggering or searching in input data decoded with a user defined protocol

ABSTRACT

A test system for triggering or searching in input data decoded with a user defined protocol is provided. The test system comprises a processor and a display. The processor is configured to control the display to display a graphical user interface (GUI), and to receive input data. The GUI is configured to provide an input structure for a user to define protocol layer frames for decoding the input data. Based on the defined protocol layer frames, the processor is configured to generate a set of trigger or search options, and to control the display to display the set of trigger or search options.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The invention relates to a test system and a method for triggering orsearching in input data decoded with a user defined protocol, whereinthe protocol is defined using a graphical user interface providing aninput structure for a user to define protocol layer frames for decodingthe input data.

BACKGROUND

The amount of digital data generated all over the world is growingsteadily. Streaming services that provide movies, tv-programs,radio-programs and many other services to users via the internet are oneof the drivers for increasing data growth. Furthermore, the businesssector requires a huge amount of data to transmit documents, videos andelectronic mails (emails). Moreover, more and more machine data withinthe Internet of Things (IoT) and Industry 4.0 is generated. The processof transporting all the generated data from one location to another iscalled data communication, the generated data is transported via datatransmission networks. Frequently, used data transmission networks areLocal Area Networks (LAN), a Metropolitan Area Networks (MAN) or a WideArea Networks (WAN). To be able to exchange data between differentcomputers or processes network-protocols are required. A variety ofstandardized network protocols are available and additionally customizednetwork protocols configured for specific applications are available.Furthermore, new network protocols are developed or existing ones aremodified to improve data transmission.

The U.S. Pat. No. 7,401,326B1 relates to a method for generating aprogram code to be used by a protocol analyzer for interpreting andanalyzing a protocol type based on a protocol database that includesdefinition or information describing the relevant characteristics of aparticular protocol. The program code required for decoding a particularprotocol can be compiled automatically using the protocol database. TheU.S. Pat. No. 7,401,326B1, however, does not provide a convenientgraphical user interface to define the protocol layer frames to be ableto decode input data and the document is silent regarding the generationof trigger or search options.

Accordingly, there is a need for a test system and method for triggeringor searching in input data encoded according to a protocol notimplemented in the test system.

SOME EXAMPLE EMBODIMENTS

Embodiments of the present invention advantageously address theforegoing requirements and needs, as well as others, by providing a testsystem and method for triggering or searching in input data encodedaccording to a protocol not implemented in the test system. By way ofexample, the provided test system and method may be user configurable bydefining protocol layer frames, and may be capable of decoding a varietyof protocols based on the user configuration. By way of further example,the provided test system and method may provide for the performing oftrigger and search functions within one or more of the decoded dataframes and/or within cells within the data frames. By way of furtherexample, a graphical user interface (GUI) may be included, providing aninput structure for a user to define protocol layer frames for decodingthe input data to be displayed and a set of trigger or search optionsmay be presented to the user based on the defined protocol layer frames.

According to a first aspect of the invention, a test system fortriggering or searching in input data decoded with a user definedprotocol is provided. The system comprises a processing unit and adisplay unit. The processing unit is configured to present a graphicaluser interface (GUI) on the display unit and to receive input data.Further, the GUI provides an input structure for a user to defineprotocol layer frames for decoding the input data. Based on the definedprotocol layer frames, the processing unit is configured to generate aset of trigger or search options and to display the options on thedisplay unit. The input data may be data from a serial bus that iscustom to the user. The GUI allows the user to define protocol layerframes for the serial data and being able to decode the serial data.However, the input data may provide any protocol structure and can bedecoded by defining the protocol structure via the GUI. Further, triggerand search options suitable for the encoded input data are generated anddisplayed automatically by the processing unit.

Advantageously, the user input structure provided by the GUI allows theuser to define the protocol for the input data. Since there is a varietyof different network types and each of the different network types mayhave different sets of standards (e.g., protocols) it is impossible toprovide a test system knowing all possible protocols to be able todecode the incoming data (the input data). Based on the user definedformat description via the GUI an interactive menu is created thatprovides to the user a set of trigger or search options.

By way of example, the protocol decoding functionality of anoscilloscope may be enhanced by adding a processing unit to the protocoldecoder of the oscilloscope for decoding, triggering and searching,wherein the GUI provided by the processing unit is displayed on thedisplay unit of the oscilloscope. The processing unit is furtherconfigured to receive input data from the oscilloscope. The GUI providesan input structure for a user to define protocol layer frames fordecoding the input data. Based on the defined protocol layer frames, theprocessing unit is configured to generate a set of trigger or searchoptions and to display the options on the display unit of theoscilloscope.

According to a first implementation form of the provided test system,the processing unit is configured to decode the input data in framesarranged in cells based on the defined protocol layer frames.Advantageously, any input data, which may be a data stream or consistsof data packets or data frames encoded according to any protocol (e.g.,a data protocol, a network protocol or a communication protocol,hereinafter referred to as a protocol), can be decoded based on thedefined protocol layer frames. A data packet (e.g., an internet protocol(IP) packet) is also called a frame consisting of control informationand user data, which is also known as payload. The structure of an IPpacket and the structure of almost any data frame can be described as aframe arranged in cells. An example configuration, therefore, comprisesa configuration of the processing unit to decode the input data inframes arranged in cells.

According to a further implementation form of the provided test system,the input structure for the definition of protocol layer frames is atable. Advantageously, the representation of the input structure as atable structure is similar to table structures known from other softwaretools such as Excel or other table-like structured programs. Thus, ahuge number of users is able to work with such a user interface almostintuitively. Further, the table structure can easily be modified byinserting, removing or appending cells. Cells can provide pre-definedselections that can easily be chosen by the user.

According to a further implementation form of the provided test system,the GUI allows the user to select one or more of the displayed triggeror search options and to enter trigger or search conditions for theselected trigger or search options. Advantageously, only a selection oftrigger or search options that are suitable for the decoded frames arepresented to the user via the GUI and the user can easily select one ormore desired trigger or search options. Further, the user can entertrigger or search condition for selected trigger or search options. Theuser may receive a table of the cells within a frame as trigger orsearch option. The user can select one or more of the cells and definetrigger or search conditions for the selected cells.

By way of example, the user defined trigger or search conditions may beconverted by the processing unit based on the protocol into basicoscilloscope trigger or search capabilities, or into other suitableparameters for performing the trigger or search function. Such basicoscilloscope trigger or search capabilities may, for example, comprisethreshold, rising edge, falling edge or similar.

By way of further example, trigger or search conditions may include apredetermined value or a predetermined range. In other words triggeringor searching is performed based upon a predetermined value or apredetermined range. The information that is included in the input datamay transported by a protocol message and contains values. These valuesmay extend over a wider range. Therefore, it is desirable to trigger orsearch not only on or for a specific protocol message but also upon thecontent respectively information transported by the protocol message.

By way of further example, the GUI may allow the user to search foradditional trigger or search options in a pre-defined selection list,for example, in case the generated set of trigger or search options isnot useful for the user. By way of further example, the GUI may allowthe user to manually generate a set of trigger or search options.

According to a further implementation form of the provided test system,the GUI allows the user to select one or more frames and/or cells forone or more trigger or search options. Advantageously, the user candefine for which frames and/or cells the trigger and search functionshall be performed. The user can decide if the trigger or searchfunction is performed in one or more frames, and the user canadditionally define one or more cells within the selected frames inwhich a trigger or search function is performed. Thus, the user candefine very specifically the frames and cells intended to be triggeredon or searched.

According to a further implementation form of the provided test system,the processing unit is configured to perform a trigger or searchfunction within one or more selected frames and/or cells and to displaythe trigger or search results on the display unit via the GUI.Advantageously, the trigger or search function is performed only withinthe selected frames and cells and the results of the performed triggeror search function are displayed. Thus, the user is able to perform avery specific trigger and search function and display the results of theperformed trigger or search function. This supports the user to detecterrors within a network, since the trigger and search function can beperformed very detailed and the user can focus on the frames and cellsof interest.

According to a further implementation form of the provided test system,the GUI allows the user to define display options for displaying thetrigger or search results. Advantageously, the user can further adaptthe presentation of the results of a performed trigger or searchfunction to be able to display the required information. This featurefurther supports the user to analyze complex networks and to gain theinformation to resolve network problems.

According to a further implementation form of the provided test system,the trigger or search conditions for the selected trigger or searchoption can define one or more frame or frame types. Advantageously, theuser can define the frame or frame type relevant for a trigger or searchfunction just by defining the trigger or search condition. The user cantrigger on or search within several frames but the user can further onlytrigger on or search within different frame types. Triggering on a frameor frame type or searching within a frame or frame type allows a higherabstraction level instead of just defining bit-wise trigger or searchconditions. The user can trigger on or search for, exemplarily anacknowledgement frame or an address frame.

According to a further implementation form of the provided test system,the trigger or search conditions for the selected trigger or searchoption can define one or more cells of interest within the one or moreframe or frame types. Advantageously, just by defining trigger or searchconditions for a selected trigger or search option the user candetermine cells of interest within one or more already selected framesor frame types for which the trigger or search function has to beperformed. Thus, the user can easily define cells within one or moreframes or frame types.

According to a further implementation form of the provided test system,the trigger or search conditions for the selected trigger or searchoption define particular values to be triggered on or searched forwithin one or more cells. Advantageously, the user can easily defineparticular values within one or more cells that have to be searched orthat initiate a trigger function.

According to a second aspect of the invention, a method for triggeringor searching in input data decoded with a user defined protocol isprovided. The method comprises the steps of displaying a graphical userinterface (GUI) on a display unit and receiving input data with the aidof a processing unit. The method further comprises the steps ofproviding the GUI presented on the display unit with an input structurefor the user to define protocol layer frames for decoding the inputdata, and generating a set of trigger or search options based on thedefined protocol layer frames and displaying the options on the displayunit with the aid of the processing unit.

According to a first implementation form of the provided method, themethod further comprises the step of decoding the input data based onthe defined protocol layer frames in frames arranged in cells with theaid of the processing unit.

According to a further implementation form of the provided method, themethod further comprises the step of generating an input structure forthe definition of protocol layer frames in table form.

According to a further implementation form of the provided method, themethod further comprises the step of accepting user selection of one ormore of the displayed trigger or search options and accepting user inputof trigger or search conditions for the selected trigger or searchoptions with the aid of the GUI configured by the processing unit.

According to a further implementation form of the provided method, themethod further comprises the step of providing a GUI allowing theselection of one or more frames and/or cells for which the trigger orsearch options is desired with the aid of the processing unit.

According to a further implementation form of the provided method, themethod further comprises the step of performing a trigger or searchfunction within the one or more selected frames and/or cells anddisplaying the trigger or search results obtained by the trigger orsearch function on the display unit via the GUI with the aid of theprocessing unit.

According to a further implementation form of the provided method, themethod further comprises the step of providing the GUI for definingdisplay options for displaying the trigger or search results.

According to a further implementation form of the provided method, themethod further comprises the step of defining one or more frames orframe types as trigger or search condition for the selected trigger orsearch option.

Still other aspects, features, and advantages of the present inventionare readily apparent from the following detailed description, simply byillustrating a number of particular embodiments and implementations,including the best mode contemplated for carrying out the presentinvention. The present invention is also capable of other and differentembodiments, and its several details can be modified in various obviousrespects, all without departing from the spirit and scope of the presentinvention. Accordingly, the drawing and description are to be regardedas illustrative in nature, and not as restrictive.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Embodiments of the present invention are illustrated by way of example,and not by way of limitation, in the figures of the accompanyingdrawings, in which like reference numerals refer to similar elements,and in which:

FIG. 1 shows a block diagram of an example test system according toexample embodiments of the present invention;

FIG. 2 shows a block diagram of an example frame structure of theManagement Data Input/Output (MDIO) protocol according to exampleembodiments of the present invention;

FIG. 3, 300A shows the graphical user interface for the definition ofprotocol layer frames, and 300B shows the graphical user interface fordefining search conditions, according to example embodiments of thepresent invention; and

FIG. 4 shows a flow chart of an example test method according to exampleembodiments of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

A test system and method for triggering or searching in input dataencoded according to a protocol not implemented in the test system aredescribed. In the following description, for the purposes ofexplanation, numerous specific details are set forth in order to providea thorough understanding of the invention. It is apparent, however, thatthe invention may be practiced without these specific details or with anequivalent arrangement. In other instances, well-known structures anddevices are shown in block diagram form in order to avoid unnecessarilyobscuring the invention.

A processor, unit, module or component (as referred to herein) may becomposed of software component(s), which are stored in a memory or othercomputer-readable storage medium, and executed by one or more processorsor CPUs of the respective devices. A module or unit may alternatively becomposed of hardware component(s) or firmware component(s), or acombination of hardware, firmware and/or software components. Further,with respect to the various example embodiments described herein, whilecertain of the functions are described as being performed by certaincomponents or modules (or combinations thereof), such descriptions areprovided as examples and are thus not intended to be limiting.Accordingly, any such functions may be envisioned as being performed byother components or modules (or combinations thereof), without departingfrom the spirit and general scope of the present invention. Moreover,the methods, processes and approaches described herein may beprocessor-implemented using processing circuitry that may comprise oneor more microprocessors, application specific integrated circuits(ASICs), field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), or other devicesoperable to be configured or programmed to implement the systems and/ormethods described herein. For implementation on such devices that areoperable to execute software instructions, the flow diagrams and methodsdescribed herein may be implemented in processor instructions stored ina computer-readable medium, such as executable software stored in acomputer memory store.

FIG. 1 shows a block diagram of an example test system 100 according toexample embodiments of the present invention. FIG. 1 depicts aprocessing unit 110 that is configured to receive input data 120 from anetwork. The input data may be a data stream or data packet formattedbased on a specific protocol. Within this application, the expressionprotocol includes communication protocols used in telecommunications aswell as network protocols used to exchange data between computers andprocesses but is not limited thereto. The test system further comprisesa display unit 130 that is connected to the processing unit 110. Theprocessing unit 110 is further configured to present a graphical userinterface (GUI) on the display unit 130.

By way of example, the display unit 130 is a touch screen and the usercan interact with the GUI by touching the touch screen. It is alsoconceivable, that a keyboard, mouse or any other indicating device maybe used, so that the user can interact with the GUI. The processing unitis further configured to receive and process data, based on the userinputs made via the input structure provided by the GUI. The test systemcan optionally include a memory unit 140 that is capable of storing datareceived from the processing unit 110, or to send stored data to theprocessing unit 110. It is also conceivable, however, that theprocessing unit may provide a memory functionality or internal memory.

FIG. 2 shows a block diagram of an example frame structure 200 of theManagement Data Input/Output (MDIO) protocol according to exampleembodiments of the present invention. The MDIO protocol is used forbidirectional transfer of control and status information between aphysical layer entity (PHY) and a station management entity (STA). Amajor application of MDIO is fault detection by interrogating registersof physical devices. Hence, MDIO serial bus visualization helpsdebugging new products by giving developers a quick insight into thenative data on the bus without using a special decoder. The MDIOprotocol represents just one example of a possible frame structureapplicable in example embodiments of the present invention.

The frame structure of the MDIO protocol is further used in FIG. 3 todescribe how a protocol layer structure is defined via the inputstructure provided by the GUI.

The structure of MDIO frames depicted in FIG. 2, shows two frame types,a Read type and a Write type, which include a preamble (PRE), consistingof 32 logic “one” bits (“1 . . . 1”). The structure further includes astart of frame (ST) code consisting of two bits and an operation code(OP) specifying a type of transaction. A transaction could be to performa read or a write function. The frame structure further includes theaddress of the physical layer entity (PHYAD) and a register address(REGAD) within the physical layer entity (PHY). The MDIO frame structureadditionally provides a turnaround time (TA) field to determine a twobit time spacing between the register address (REGAD) and DATA. The MDIOstructure also includes a data field containing 16 bits of payload dataand an idle field including a single value indicating to the physicalmedium attachment that there is no data to convey. By way of example,FIG. 3 depicts how a protocol frame structure (in this example the framestructure of the MDIO protocol) is defined with the aid of a GUIproviding an input structure for a user to define appropriate protocollayer frames, in other words to define the frame format description.

FIG. 3 shows the graphical user interface for the definition of protocollayer frames, and the graphical user interface for defining searchconditions, according to example embodiments of the present invention.FIG. 3 shows two different dialog windows 300A, 300B of the graphicaluser interface (GUI).

The upper portion of FIG. 3 depicts a GUI 300A providing an inputstructure for a user to define protocol layer frames. The GUI (or userinterface) allows a fully customizable frame description. The term“protocol layer frames” has the identical meaning as “frame formatdescription.” Both expressions may therefore equally be used within thisdocument.

The user is able to describe the generic format and logical structure ofthe protocol that is used for the input data by creating customizedframe format descriptions of various structures and lengths. By clickingthe “Add” button 310A within the user interface 300A a frame formatdescription (or frame description, for short) can be created. Describinga frame format requires assigning it a “Name” 320A as well as creating“Cells” 330A and specifying cell descriptions.

The “Frame type” string is intended for the user to label the framedescription, in other words to define the name of the frame. Typically,a “Frame type” string is labeled according to the specifications of theapplicable protocol standard. The user interface allows the user to openalready stored sets of frame descriptions or save a created set of framedescriptions (not shown). An example format to store the framedescriptions is the “xml” format. The “xml” format is a markup languagedefining a set of rules for encoding documents in a format that ishuman-readable and machine-readable. Although the design of “xml”focuses on documents, the language is widely used for the representationof arbitrary data structures.

A cell description, which is represented by one row in one framedescription can be created by the user in any position of a framedescription by clicking the “Insert” 340A button within the userinterface 300A. The “Append” 360A button adds a cell description at theend of a frame description, below the lowest existing cell description.The “Remove” 350A button allows the user to delete a selected celldescription from the active frame description.

The cells in a frame are described by “Cell Name, Bit Count, Conditions,Numeric Format, Bit Order, Color and Result Column.” The user can definecell names, which improves readability of the structure by selectingnames according to the cell definition in the appropriate protocol.According to FIG. 3, the cells are named PRE, ST, OP, PHYAD, REGAD, TA,DATA and IDLE.

The bit count information defines the length of the cell and—based uponthe previous cells—also the cell position and the next cell startposition within a frame.

The condition field is used to apply various conditions andfunctionalities for a cell. Among others, it can be used to identifymandatory values such as a checksum value or an identification value.

The numeric format field allows the user to specify a numeric dataformat for the condition value. Numeric data formats may be decimal,hexadecimal, octal or binary. The bit order field allows the user todefine in which order the bits of a cell's condition value areevaluated, either the most significant bit (MSB) or the leastsignificant bit (LSB) first.

Choosing the color field opens a dialog that allows the user to selectthe color representation of different cells.

The lower portion of FIG. 3 shows a GUI 300B, in this example named“Generic Search Settings Dialog” (or search dialog) that is generatedbased on the defined protocol layer frames, as depicted in the GUI 300Aof FIG. 3.

The search dialog structure easily allows the user to select one of thedefined protocol layer frames by providing a list 380B with theavailable frames. A selection of a frame displays the cells related tothe selected frame. One or more of the cells can be selected. For theactive selected field (e.g., the data cell 381B in the lower portion ofFIG. 3), a field is provided on the user interface that allows the userto define search conditions 382B for the selected active cell 381B.

FIG. 3 shows that the cells that have been defined for a frame based ona user defined protocol format are made available to the user in asearch dialog within the GUI to perform a search function. The user caneasily select one or more frames and define one or more cells within theselected frames where a search shall be performed. For each cell theuser can easily specify the desired search criteria also called searchconditions.

Analogous, the user dialog to define trigger settings, the triggerdialog is generated based on the defined protocol layer frames. One ormore frames can be selected and one or more cells within the selectedframes can be selected. For each cell the trigger criteria also calledtrigger conditions can be defined.

Thus, the GUI allows the user to define frame descriptions to be able todecode input data encoded according to a protocol not known to the testsystem. Further, a search or trigger dialog within the GUI is generatedbased on the defined frame descriptions and the trigger or search dialogallows the user to select one or more specific frames and further toselect one or more cells within the frames and define trigger or searchconditions for a set of trigger or search options provided by the userinterface in the trigger or search dialog.

An example is given, where the trigger condition is a predeterminedvalue. There is an input data containing the following bit sequence: 0 00 1 0 1 0 1. The user determines a protocol, in other words, the userdefines a custom protocol, in which the frame consists of 4 bits, and inwhich the frames have a simple binary coding scheme. The user defines avalue trigger, which should trigger if the value in a frame is equal orabove 5 (decimal). The input data is first decoded according to thecustom protocol, in other words based on the user defined protocol layerframes. After receiving the first frame, no trigger function isperformed, since the value of the first frame 0 0 0 1 is 1 (decimal).During or after receiving the second frame 0 1 0 1 a trigger function isperformed (e.g., the acquisition of input data is started), since thesecond frame has the value 5 (decimal), which complies with the definedtrigger condition.

The use of scripts in “xml” format allows the user to easily adapt thetest system for various protocols. A “xml” script is provided togenerate the GUI that is presented to the user for defining the protocollayer frames. Based on the definitions made by the user via the userinterface, the “xml” file is automatically updated to incorporate theuser definitions in the file. No compiling of the “xml” script isrequired. Based on the script content the processing unit is configuredto decode the input data.

FIG. 4 shows a flow chart of an example test method 400 according toexample embodiments of the present invention. In step S410, a GUI isdisplayed on a display unit with the aid of a processing unit. Further,the processing unit is configured to receive input data from a datatransmission network. The input data does not have to follow apre-defined protocol that is known by the processing unit. In step S420,the GUI presented on the display is configured to provide an inputstructure for a user to define protocol layer frames. This allows theuser to define any desired protocol structure and ensures that inputdata having a specific format not known to a test system can be decodedby the test system. In step S430, a set of trigger or search options isgenerated with the aid of the processing unit, wherein the generation ofthe options depends on the defined protocol layer frames. Since thetrigger or search options are generated based on defined protocol layerframes, the structure defined in step S430 uses the definitions fromstep S420. In step S440, the generated trigger or search options aredisplayed on the display unit via the GUI.

While various embodiments of the present invention have been describedabove, it should be understood that they have been presented by way ofexample only, and not for limitation. Numerous changes to the disclosedembodiments can be made in accordance with the disclosure herein withoutdeparting from the spirit or scope of the invention. Thus, the breadthand scope of the present invention should not be limited by any of theabove described embodiments. Rather, the scope of the invention shouldbe defined in accordance with the following claims and theirequivalents.

Although the invention has been illustrated and described with respectto one or more implementations, equivalent alterations and modificationswill occur to others skilled in the art upon the reading andunderstanding of this specification and the annexed drawings. Inaddition, while a particular feature of the invention may have beendisclosed with respect to only one of several implementations, suchfeature may be combined with one or more other features of the otherimplementations as may be desired and advantageous for any given orparticular application.

What is claimed is:
 1. A test system, for triggering or searching ininput data decoded with a user defined protocol, comprising: aprocessor; and a display; and wherein the processor is configured tocontrol the display to display a graphical user interface (GUI), and toreceive the input data, wherein the input data is serial data from aserial bus that is custom to a user, wherein the GUI is configured toprovide an input structure for the user to define protocol layer framesfor decoding the serial data, wherein, based on the defined protocollayer frames, the processor is configured to generate a set of triggeror search options, and to control the display to display the set oftrigger or search options, wherein the processor is configured to decodethe serial data in frames arranged in cells based on the definedprotocol layer frames, wherein a length of the cell is defined by bitcount information, and based on previous cells, cell position and nextcell start position within the respective frame, and wherein the userdefined protocol is used for a bidirectional transfer of control andstatus information between a physical layer entity and a stationmanagement entity.
 2. The test system according to claim 1, wherein,based on the defined protocol layer frames, the processor is configuredto decode the input data in the frames arranged in the cells.
 3. Thetest system according to claim 1, wherein the input structure for thedefinition of protocol layer frames is a table.
 4. The test systemaccording to claim 1, wherein the GUI is configured to facilitateselection of one or more of the displayed trigger or search options andto facilitate input of trigger or search conditions for the selectedtrigger or search options.
 5. The test system according to claim 1,wherein the GUI is configured to facilitate selection of one or moreframes and/or cells for the trigger or search options.
 6. The testsystem according to claim 5, wherein the processor is configured toperform a trigger or search function within one or more selected framesand/or cells and to control the display to display results of thetrigger or search function via the GUI.
 7. The test system according toclaim 6, wherein the GUI is configured to facilitate definition ofdisplay options for displaying the trigger or search function results.8. The test system according to claim 4, wherein the trigger or searchconditions for the selected trigger or search options define one or moreframes or frame types.
 9. The test system according to claim 8, whereinthe trigger or search conditions for the selected trigger or searchoptions define one or more cells of interest within the one or moreframes or frame types.
 10. The test system according to claim 9, whereinthe trigger or search conditions for the selected trigger or searchoptions define particular values to be triggered on or searched forwithin the one or more cells.
 11. A method, for triggering or searchingin input data decoded with a user defined protocol, comprising:receiving, by a processor, the input data, wherein the input data isserial data from a serial bus that is custom to a user; displaying agraphical user interface (GUI) on a display, wherein the GUI isconfigured to provide an input structure for the user to define protocollayer frames for decoding the serial data; generating, by the processor,a set of trigger or search options based on the defined protocol layerframes; displaying the set of trigger or search options on the display;and decoding, by the processor, the serial data in frames arranged incells based on the defined protocol layer frames; and wherein a lengthof the cell is defined by bit count information, and based on previouscells, cell position and next cell start position within the respectiveframe, and wherein the user defined protocol is used for a bidirectionaltransfer of control and status information between a physical layerentity and a station management entity.
 12. The method according toclaim 11, further comprising: decoding, by the processor, the input datain the frames arranged in the cells based on the defined protocol layerframes.
 13. The method according to claim 11, further comprising:generating an input structure for the definition of the protocol layerframes in a table format.
 14. The method according to claim 11, whereinthe GUI is configured to facilitate selection of one or more of thedisplayed trigger or search options and to facilitate input of triggeror search conditions for the selected trigger or search options.
 15. Themethod according to claim 11, wherein the GUI is configured tofacilitate selection of one or more frames and/or cells for the triggeror search options.
 16. The method according to claim 15, furthercomprising: performing, by the processor, a trigger or search functionwithin the one or more selected frames and/or cells; and displaying, onthe display, results of the trigger or search function via the GUI. 17.The method according to claim 16, wherein the GUI is configured tofacilitate definition of display options for displaying the trigger orsearch function results.
 18. The method according to claim 11, whereinthe trigger or search conditions for the selected trigger or searchoptions define one or more frames or frame types.